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The acetyltransferase activity of the bacterial toxin YopJ of Yersinia is activated by eukaryotic host cell inositol hexakisphosphate.

ABSTRACT: Plague, one of the most devastating diseases in human history, is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The bacteria use a syringe-like macromolecular assembly to secrete various toxins directly into the host cells they infect. One such Yersinia outer protein, YopJ, performs the task of dampening innate immune responses in the host by simultaneously inhibiting the MAPK and NFkappaB signaling pathways. YopJ catalyzes the transfer of acetyl groups to serine, threonine, and lysine residues on target proteins. Acetylation of serine and threonine residues prevents them from being phosphorylated thereby preventing the activation of signaling molecules on which they are located. In this study, we describe the requirement of a host-cell factor for full activation of the acetyltransferase activity of YopJ and identify this activating factor to be inositol hexakisphosphate (IP(6)). We extend the applicability of our results to show that IP(6) also stimulates the acetyltransferase activity of AvrA, the YopJ homologue from Salmonella typhimurium. Furthermore, an IP(6)-induced conformational change in AvrA suggests that IP(6) acts as an allosteric activator of enzyme activity. Our results suggest that YopJ-family enzymes are quiescent in the bacterium where they are synthesized, because bacteria lack IP(6); once injected into mammalian cells by the pathogen these toxins bind host cell IP(6), are activated, and deregulate the MAPK and NFkappaB signaling pathways thereby subverting innate immunity.

SUBMITTER: Mittal R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2888404 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The acetyltransferase activity of the bacterial toxin YopJ of Yersinia is activated by eukaryotic host cell inositol hexakisphosphate.

Mittal Rohit R Peak-Chew Sew Yeu SY Sade Robert S RS Vallis Yvonne Y McMahon Harvey T HT

The Journal of biological chemistry 20100429 26

Plague, one of the most devastating diseases in human history, is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The bacteria use a syringe-like macromolecular assembly to secrete various toxins directly into the host cells they infect. One such Yersinia outer protein, YopJ, performs the task of dampening innate immune responses in the host by simultaneously inhibiting the MAPK and NFkappaB signaling pathways. YopJ catalyzes the transfer of acetyl groups to serine, threonine, and lysine residues on ta ...[more]

PMID: 20430892

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Project description:Numerous microbial pathogens modulate or interfere with cell death pathways in cultured cells. However, the precise role of host cell death during in vivo infection remains poorly understood. Macrophages infected by pathogenic species of Yersinia typically undergo an apoptotic cell death. This is due to the activity of a Type III secreted effector protein, designated YopJ in Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. pestis, and YopP in the closely related Y. enterocolitica. It has recently been reported that Y. enterocolitica YopP shows intrinsically greater capacity for being secreted than Y. pestis YopJ, and that this correlates with enhanced cytotoxicity observed for high virulence serotypes of Y. enterocolitica. The enzymatic activity and secretory capacity of YopP from different Y. enterocolitica serotypes have been shown to be variable. However, the underlying basis for differential secretion of YopJ/YopP, and whether reduced secretion of YopJ by Y. pestis plays a role in pathogenesis during in vivo infection, is not currently known. It has also been reported that similar to macrophages, Y. enterocolitica infection of dendritic cells leads to YopP-dependent cell death. We demonstrate here that in contrast to Y. enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis infection of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells does not lead to increased cell death. However, death of Y. pseudotuberculosis-infected dendritic cells is enhanced by ectopic expression of YopP in place of YopJ. We further show that polymorphisms at the N-terminus of the YopP/YopJ proteins are responsible for their differential secretion, translocation, and consequent cytotoxicity. Mutation of two amino acids in YopJ markedly enhanced both translocation and cytotoxicity. Surprisingly, expression of YopP or a hypersecreted mutant of YopJ in Y. pseudotuberculosis resulted in its attenuation in oral mouse infection. Complete absence of YopJ also resulted in attenuation of virulence, in accordance with previous observations. These findings suggest that control of cytotoxicity is an important virulence property for Y. pseudotuberculosis, and that intermediate levels of YopJ-mediated cytotoxicity are necessary for maximal systemic virulence of this bacterial pathogen.

Dataset Information

The acetyltransferase activity of the bacterial toxin YopJ of Yersinia is activated by eukaryotic host cell inositol hexakisphosphate.

Publications

The acetyltransferase activity of the bacterial toxin YopJ of Yersinia is activated by eukaryotic host cell inositol hexakisphosphate.

Similar Datasets

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